“And now, Master, take note of their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your word with all confidence.” ~Apostle Peter

There is no doubt that persecution is a stark reality of living for a disciple of Jesus. For a disciple of Jesus, persecution is to be expected. The apostle Paul warned that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in the Messiah Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Not may be. Will be! That means me! Why do the internet trolls bother me? Are they not expected? They are mild compared what is coming.

The religious leaders and elites will come after us.

The political leaders and elites will come after us.

They killed Jesus. They may kill us. They may kill me.

“For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. “And now, Master, take note of their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your word with all confidence.” ~Apostle Peter and John | Acts 4:27–29

Am I prepared? Secularism is the new religion. Atheism is a religion. At a minimum they are coming after us. They are serious. Just ask some regular folks who lost their businesses when they dared to stand up for traditional marriage.

What is dangerous is that the government is helping the secularists and atheists. It’s not just China or North Korea we need to worry about.

“The church that the sexual revolution has built is thriving, all right, and those outside need to know what’s in there. But its pews are packed with casualties—every one of them a convert waiting to happen, for the Church that does keep its promises”. Source: The Zealous Faith of Secularism | Mary Eberstadt

We all seem to lament the demise of Christianity in our country. We must recognize the deadly danger of Secular Religion’s dogma. The casualties are strewn in the streets and we are stepping over the bodies. It is a call to arms to save the lost souls. Jesus demands we take action. Will we? Will we do something today?

“Secularist progressivism is less a political movement than a church, and the so-called culture war has not been conducted by people of religious faith and people of no faith. It is instead a contest of competing faiths. One believes in the books of the Bible, and the other in the evolving, figurative book of orthodoxy about the sexual revolution.” Source: The Zealous Faith of Secularism | Mary Eberstadt

Happy are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. | Matthew 5:10–12

Jesus said that, if they persecuted Him, they will also persecute His followers (John 15:20). Jesus made it clear that those of the world will hate a disciple of Jesus because the world hates the Messiah.

If I were like the world (or a Secularist) — vain, earthly, sensual, and given to pleasure, wealth, and ambition — the world would not oppose me. But a disciple of Jesus does not belong to the world, which is why the world engages in a disciple’s persecution (see John 15:18–19).

A disciple of Jesus is influenced by different principles from those of the world. We are motivated by the love of God and holiness, while the world is driven by the love of sin. It is our very separation from the world that arouses the world’s animosity (1 Peter 4:3–4).

Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. | John 15:20

We must not forget that it was the religious elites and leaders who convicted Jesus and sent Him to His death on the cross. Many times they had sought to kill him. They finally succeeded. Are they coming after me? Are they coming after you?